Information leak a ‘major failure’

Fife Council workers’ personal details sent to wrong people

Fife Council has sent personal details, including national insurance numbers, of potentially hundreds of its staff to the wrong people, The Courier can reveal.

Polling clerks and presiding officers, who have worked for the council on election days, were told their confidential information may have been leaked.

Home addresses, personal and work phone numbers and email details are included in the documents and Fife Council is investigating the blunder.

One presiding officer affected by the error said they were “very alarmed” over the authority’s “carelessness”, with one local MP calling the leak a “major failure”.

A spokesperson for the council said it had apologised for the mistake.

Hundreds of Fife Council employees have been told their personal data may have been sent to the wrong person in a major blunder, The Courier can exclusively reveal.

The local authority accidentally sent the contact details and national insurance numbers of current and former polling station clerks and presiding officers to strangers in the major mix-up.

Close to 400 people are thought to have been caught up in the inadvertent leak, with the possibility of many more being involved.

The council has admitted to the error and said an investigation into the incident was already under way.

However, it refused to answer Courier questions over how many people had been affected.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has confirmed it is also looking into the incident.

One presiding officer said they had been shocked to receive another individual’s personal information, and slammed the council’s “carelessness”.

The officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I was very alarmed when I opened mail addressed to myself to discover information about a stranger, including their home address, their home, mobile and email contact details and their national insurance number.

“Then I realised someone else might have that information about me.”

The initial error was made in letters dated January 10, two days before the council sent a supplementary letter confirming a mistake had been made.

The Courier understands the council still does not know how many people received the wrong information and has instead asked recipients of the letters to respond individually as to whether they were affected by the blunder.

At least 378 people are employed by Fife Council each year as polling clerks and presiding officers.

Fife Council’s team manager for democratic services, David Henderson, acknowledged letters had been sent in error.

He added: “We have apologised unreservedly to all those affected by the mistake which was caused by an error in our printing operation.

“An investigation is under way and we have taken immediate action to retrieve the information issued.”

An ICO spokesperson said: “We’re aware of an incident involving Fife Council and are making inquiries.”

Then I realised someone else might have that information about me